Euro-Mediterranean conference meant to help Israel merge in the region, says Waleed Hillis

[ 14/07/2008 - 09:35 AM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

The Islamic Jihad Movement has accused France on Sunday of attempting to create a presence for itself in the region with the aim to open conduits of normalization between the Zionist state and the Arab countries.

Waleed Hillis, the spokesman of the Movement in Gaza Strip, pointed out that the attempt of French president Nicolas Sarkozy to bring PA chief Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli premier Ehud Olmert together in a meeting was meant to encourage other Arab leaders participating in the Euro-Mediterranean union conference to sit with Olmert.

"This meeting [of Abbas and Olmert] has no political importance as it was clear the French president was attempting to use Abbas's presence as a channel to have more meetings between Olmert and other Arab leaders present in the conference", said Hillis.

He also charged, "In general, the Western rule couldn’t incline to the justice of the Palestinian issue, or at least to become neutral in the conflict with Israel simply because Israel was nothing but a Western secretion in the region, and what the Western countries were doing in the region was meant to strengthen Israel's presence in the Arab and Muslim region".

A couple of months ago, Sakozy, who was speaking in the Israeli Knesset (parliament), reiterated his country's commitment to Israel's security.

"We are aware that Arab leaders couldn’t just accept or refuse such calls and meetings for political reasons; yet encouraging stands were demonstrated by Libya and Algeria regarding the new union; however, we are of full conviction that the union would fail to normalize Arab-Israeli ties as previous conferences failed in this regard", asserted Hillis.

He also disregarded France's ability to play a strong role in driving PA-Israeli peace negotiations forward, and halting Israeli settlement activities in occupied Palestine, describing such a role as an "illusion".

"The USA will not allow any European state to replace her in the region as France and other European countries were only complimenting the American role in the region and not alternatives for the USA in the region", underlined Hillis. For his part, MP Dr. Yehya Mousa, member of Hamas's change and reform parliamentary bloc, warned of the dangers of the union for the Mediterranean project, charging that it served as a new attempt to normalize Israel's relations with the Arab countries. He said in a press statement that Israel is occupying Arab lands, besieging the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and crushing it in the West Bank while the Arabs sit and laugh with this occupier. Mousa said that PA chief Mahmoud Abbas continues to meet with Israeli premier Ehud Olmert in what Israel exploits in its public relations campaign to beautify its image and to show as if there is no problem between Israel and the Palestinians. "Abbas is not assuming his responsibility and is incompetent to lead the Palestinian people and such practice only harms the Palestinian national project," the MP added.

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